CBS SPORTS NETWORK RETURNS TO THE ICE FOR THE 2013-14 SEASON WITH THE NATION’S TOP-RANKED COLLEGE HOCKEY TEAMS

CBS Sports Network returns to the ice for the 2013-14 college hockey season as the exclusive national home of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The Network will showcase the nation’s top teams with 18 NCHC contests, as well as two games from the Atlantic Hockey Association. In addition to the regular season schedule, CBS Sports Network also will air the NCHC Tournament semifinals (Friday, March 21) and finals (Saturday, March 22) from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., sending the NCHC Tournament champion into the 2014 NCAA Hockey Tournament.

The puck drops on Friday, October 18 (7:00 PM ET) with coverage of NCHC’s inaugural season, when No. 7-rankedNorth Dakota visits No. 2-rankedMiami, followed by two perennial powers Minnesota Duluth at Colorado College (9:30 PM ET). Other key match-ups this season include:

Friday, Nov. 15: No. 3-rankedWisconsin at No. 2-rankedMiami

Saturday, Jan. 24: No. 7-rankedNorth Dakota at Denver

Friday, Feb. 21: No. 9-rankedSt. Cloud at No. 2-rankedMiami

Friday, Feb. 28: No. 7-rankedNorth Dakota at No. 9-rankedSt. Cloud

Play-by-play announcer Ben Holden teams with lead analyst Dave Starman, who returns for his 11th season with the Network,and rink-side reporter Shireen Saski to call the action. Eric Frede and analyst Jim Paradise also team up to call four games.

NCHC member schools have combined to win 17 NCAA titles and compete in 50 NCAA Frozen Fours. The eight NCHC schools are also home to 11 Hobey Baker Award winners – the most prestigious individual award in all of college hockey.

CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.